CARROLLTON, Ga.- The Valdosta State women's basketball team defeated the West Georgia Wolves on the road Saturday afternoon, 57-48. The Lady Blazers improved to 16-3 overall and 15-2 in Gulf South Conference play while West Georgia fell to 7-13 overall and 6-11 in conference play.
VSU was led by junior Aleisha Curry, who scored 12 points and amassed a game-high seven rebounds. She went 5 of 7 from the field and 2 of 3 from the line. Redshirt senior Jirah Ards added 11 points while junior Lili Long chipped in nine.
The Wolves were led in scoring by Sophia Singer who scored a game-high 20 points on 6 of 9 from the field , 4 of 6 from distance and a perfect 4 of 4 from the line. Peace Okeke and Stephanie Torres both chipped in nine while none of the other Wolves scored over three points.
The Lady Blazers got out to an early lead, opening the game with a 7-0 spurt in the first 3:27 behind a rapid three-pointer from Long to kick off the Valdosta State's scoring for the day. West Georgia may have been down, but not out, as it fought right back with an 8-0 run to put the Wolves up 8-7 behind a triple from Sophia Singer with 4:38 remaining in the quarter. VSU would close out the period on an 8-3 run for a 15-10 lead by the end of the opening quarter as junior Emma Martin hit a deep "trey" to close out scoring for the frame.
UWG stormed right back in the second quarter as it went on an 8-2 run after Singer knocked down another shot from deep to put the Wolves up 18-17 with 5:11 left to go in the half. Both teams traded buckets down to the quarter-ending buzzer with the Lady Blazers ultimately leading 25-23 at the half after senior Shanice Nelson hit a two-point jumper for the final bucket of the half.
The Lady Blazers spared no time to run up the score in the third quarter, quickly building a 31-23 lead with 8:12 remaining in the frame. Later in the quarter, Curry added a "hoop and harm' for a 36-27 advantage with 4:06 remaining in the quarter. A pair of threes from Ards and Martin concluded the scoring for VSU in the third quarter as the Lady Blazers held a firm 42-33 lead going into the final quarter of play.
In the final frame, sophomore Kate Tanner chipped into the Valdosta State lead with a steal and score, putting the Lady Blazers up 44-33 with 8:31 left in the game. The remainder of the game saw the Wolves attempt to scratch and claw their way back, but for every shot West Georgia would make, the Lady Blazers would answer. A last second layup from Long secured VSU the 57-48 victory.
The Lady Blazer victory gave the Valdosta State women's basketball team a full point in the Red Clay Rivalry Series as the Lady Blazers previously defeated West Georgia in Valdosta on Dec. 1 to a score of 72-45. Winning both games allowed for the women's team to gain a full point in the rivalry, rather than .5 for only winning one of the two matchups. After the VSU men's basketball loss today, UWG leads in the rivalry 4.5-2.5 with baseball, softball, women's tennis and golf remaining in the series this season.
The Lady Blazers will be on the road again next week for two more games, beginning with a match-up against Christian Brothers in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET. A trip to Jackson, Tenn., follows as VSU will take on Union on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
